Klout has a new look and metrics

Klout is a vanity license plate of sorts for social-media users who want to flex their influence, with a score based on their digital heft.

But some have scoffed that the service's metrics were out of whack.

The San Francisco-based startup hope to put those criticisms to rest with a buffed-up look and new metrics today.

The redesign comes with richer diagnostics -- 400 factors, compared to 100 previously -- to determine one's clout (expressed in a "Klout Score"). Some of the new factors are whether the individual has a Wikipedia profile, their title and company affiliation on their LinkedIn profile, who retweets their Twitter comments, and who tags them in Facebook photos.

"My goal is to have influence be worth as much as money, the new currency," Klout CEO Joe Fernandez says. "This is a huge transition for us. Giving you tools to be a greater content creator."

Klout's new metrics now analyze 12 billion pieces of data a day, vs. 1 billion before, to get a better representation of influencers. Klout lists about 100 million profiles.

"This should quell some of the criticism about Klout scores being simplistic, and the lack of transparency in explaining how they are determined," says Zach Hofer-Shall, an analyst at Forrester Research. "Their score has become a bit of an industry standard."

Chevrolet pays Klout to compile lists of potential influencers for cars, and helps the automaker reach them. Those targeted by Chevy are offered perks, like a three-day test drive of the Volt, in the hopes they will tout the car on social media, says Cristi Landy, Chevrolet's marketing director for small cars.

President Obama climbed to a near-perfect 99 from 94 under the previous design.

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